Ball-game tray



Jan. 27, 1953 A. A. ABRAMS 2,626,808

BALL GAME TRAY Filed Jan. 18, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l //vv/vr0 e ALEEET' A. ABEAMS Jan. 27, 1953 ABRAMs 2,626,808

BALL GAME TRAY Filed Jan. 18, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 FIELZ 7 6 7 w ll /-v/vra,e ALBERT A. ABRAMS ,4 a/wey Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES 1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in a game apparatus, and more especially an apparatus for playing a game wherein a ball or other rolling object is propelled along a playing field towards and into a multi-compartment tray.

Among the objects of my invention is the production of such an apparatus wherein the same will be neat and attractive in appearance, novel, simple to make and to use, long-lasting and with few or no parts that are likely to become damaged or otherwise made inoperative for play, and which shall otherwise be efiicient and satisfactory for use wherever deemed applicable.

Another object of my invention is to so construct the ball-receiving receptacle of the apparatus, that there will be no likelihod of the ball coming to rest on any part of the partitions dividing the tray into the various compartments, but on the other hand it will be insured that the ball will always drop into one of such compartments.

A further object of this invention is to construct an apparatus of the kind described, wherein means are provided for removably securing the ball-receiving tray to the table easily, readily and so as to bring the bounding edges of the tray substantially flush with the play surface of the table so as to render the path of travel of said ball more accurately controllable by the player.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described, will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, as will be more clearly apparent from the disclosures herein given.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, combination of parts, and uses mentioned and more particularly pointed out in the claim. I

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure l is a perspective view, with certain parts broken away, showing my improved device;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-section through the same, taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the playing stick; Figure 4 is a cross-section detail taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Figure 5 is a top plan View of the ball-receiving 1 tray.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, A indicates a table of any suitable size, shape and material, as for instance,

PATENT OFFICE of generally rectangular shape to thereby more readily fit into the room or other place where desired, and the same may be provided with a platform structure so as to more conveniently position the device at a height most suitable for play. Such a platform may comprise the bed i having the upright supporting legs 2 depending from its corners, somewhat as indicated.

The table A comprises the floor or playing field 3, the pair of opposed upright side walls LA, the front end wall 5 extending upright, and the rear end wall 6 extending upright, so that said upright walls enclose said field and bound the same.

The side Walls 44 have an inwardly directed flange l at their top edges so as to overhang said play field, and the rear wall has a similar inwardly directed flange B therealong, except that it will be noticed that I prefer to have this lastmentioned flange wider than the other flanges so as to extend inwardly farther than the latter. The front wall 5 has an inwardly directed flange 9 along its top edge, but it will be observed that this last-mentioned flange is not elevated as much as the flanges l and 8, but upon the contrary is positioned to extend on a level intermediate the latter and the floor of the device, so that the one stick or playing implement may be conveniently supported on the flange 9, or on a players hand that rests on said flange to steady said stick.

From the foregoing explanation of the construction of the playing fleld, it is apparent that when the ball is struck or propelled in the usual manner of play, these flanges will serve to deflect the ball downwardly back onto the table, in the event that the ball is propelled with such speed that it over-rides the ball-receiving tray and strikes the bounding walls of the play field. This is simply for convenience of play, and to insure that too much time and energy will not be wasted in seeking balls that have jumped from the table and then replacing them in play position on the latter. As there is no particular advantage in play, to propel the ball with such exoess energy that it will race past said ball-receiving tray and bounce very high and possibly off the table, the deflector flanges I or bafiies will usually serve their intended purpose of keeping the ball within the confines of the field of play.

The ball-receiving means is placed on the playing field adjacent the rear end of the latter, and is made in the form of a tray B, shown of rectangular outline in the preferred embodiment. This tray may be made of any suitable or preferred material, such as metal, wood, plastic, or the like, having a central well or depression ID with a bottom portion l I. The walls 12 bound the periphery of said well and extend outwardly therefrom and are inclined downwardly to a sharply reduced edge l3 that is intended to rest upon and be substantially flush with the top surface of the playing field. Slots l4 may be provided within the confines of the tray and through the bottom wall of the same, for receiving the heads of attaching bolts l5 carried by the table, to detachably secure the tray to the table. By this means, the tray may be readily, conveniently and securely locked in its adjusted position on the table, and the bounding edges of the tray will be brought to be substantially flush with the playing field, to make for more accurate play.

A series of partitions or walls I6 extend upright from the floor of the well l0, intersecting one another to form the multiplicity of ballreceiving pockets or compartments I! having variously designated play or score values, as indicated in Fig. 5. These partitions are sufficiently wide, so that there is danger of the play ball coming to rest on top of one of the same, to slow up the game and cause annoyance to the players, and to obviate this likelihood, I have interposed fins or ribs l8 extending along the tops of the partitions, said ribs being sufiiciently thin or narrow and raised from the tops of said partitions, so that whenever the ball is superimposed on one of said ribs, it will necessarily fall to one side or the other of the latter and be directed into one of the ball-receiving pockets for a score value.

Although the well itself is relatively deep, to thereby insure that the ball will ordinarily remain within the same when received, the partitions are relatively shallow so that the element of chance will permit of the ball coming to rest within practically any one of the pockets with equal certitude, and so that not much momentum is required to have the ball roll out from one of said pockets into an adjacent one for a different, and perhaps lower score value. The ribs assist in this movement too, for it is obvious that they are not too much raised above the partitions to obstruct said movement of the ball, and their rounded edges will not be a deterrent factor either.

In order to more accurately control the manual propulsion of the play ball C, which may be of rubber or other desired material suitable for the purpose, I have provided a ball-striking means, comprising a head element I 9, preferably in the form of a solid cube as shown, on one or more faces of which a striking plate 20 may be formed or attached.

A handle or cue stick 2! may be secured to extend from said head element [9 and whereby the latter may be more accurately guided, in the usual manner of propelling the implement with one hand while steadying it with the other hand, the front flange of the table being at a sufficiently lowered elevation, compared with the playing field, to permit of this type of play of the striking means.

A roller 22 may be mounted on said head so that the latter may rotatably travel along the playing field in its guided movement toward the play ball.

In the form described, the striking means may be played so that it may be either rolled in play, to engage the ball, or it may be kept lifted above the table and brought to strike against said ball. In its lifted position, the implement may be either reversed so as to bring the roller uppermost, whereupon one hand may steady the same while the other thrusts it toward the ball, or the entire implement may be swung by one hand alone, whereby the other striking face may be brought sharply into engagement with said ball.

Any desired system of scoring may be employed for playing the game, and for the sake of convenience I propose setting a game score at 250 points. Any number of players may play the game, either singly, or by sides, and as soon as a side or individual has obtained the game score, say 250 points, by adding the scored values together cumulatively, the game is won, and a new game may be commenced.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence it is understood that I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, construction and combination of parts herein shown and set forth, except as limited by the claim hereunto appended.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a game apparatus, a ball-receiving tray adapted to be set on a supporting table and comprising a central well open entirely across its top, a bounding frame of constant uniform width entirely about said well and having its entire top sloping upwardly from adjacent the table to the top of said well, intersecting partitions extending across the bottom of said well to form a plurality of ball-receiving compartments, said partitions being much shallower than the height of said well so that said ball may be propelled upwardly of said frame to roll across said partitions while remaining within said well, and ribs extending along the top edges of said partitions and sufliciently narrower than the width of the latter to prevent the ball from hanging up on said partitions.

ALBERT A. ABRAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 589,825 Gephart Sept. 14, 1897 607,020 Dodge July 12, 1898 735,995 Mumford Aug. 11, 1903 823,049 Kelly June 12, 1906 830,535 Singleton et a1 Sept. 11, 1906 1,313,484 Hendron Aug. 19, 1919 1,862,904 Pearson June 14, 1932 2,081,511 Smith May 25, 1937 2,107,326 Cookson Feb. 8, 1938 2,432,570 Gorsuch Dec. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 539,421 France Apr. 1, 1922 

